As part of my recent hermit lifestyle I've been firing up the old PS3 a lot, with the game of choice being MLB 10: The Show. I rather enjoy the mode called Road to the Show where you create a character, you start off in the minors and you work your way to the big leagues, so this is what I've been doing. I of course made myself, was drafted by the Blue Jays, which was awesome cause they are my favorite team, and they can't afford any big name players so I thought I'd have a good chance at making the club in a couple of years. However, things did not work out as planned, and much like the fans of the Blue Jays this year, I never made to the Roger's Center to even watch a game, I actually started going backwards. So with frustration setting in, I hung up my cleats and rode off into the sunset, only making it as far as the AAA affiliate Las Vegas, but I was comforted by the fact that my created self took time to enjoy the much gambling and female escorts that Vegas has to offer.
As one career ends another has began, I introduce to you Francisco Martinez, my new player, I decided to make him part African American, part Latin American so there is no way he can fail at baseball, he's tall, he's fast, he's 18, he's everything Ricky Martin has ever sung about. Now since you people who read my blog know I can't do anything normally, I have also given Francisco a back story, so join me as I recant a tale of struggle and hardship, determination, and the innocence of a kid who just wants to play baseball.
Francisco Martinez grew up in the small village of No Existo, in the Latin American region of Hizo. It was a poor village where the chickens out numbered the villagers, and therefore were in charge. Surrounded by his family, parents Eleanora and Roberto, and his siblings Roberto Jr. Bill and Kelly, Francisco had a good childhood, and his family was close, he remembers how every Saturday night he would hop on his bicycle, which was attached to the only radio the family had, and he would pedal for hours and hours as his family sang and danced to the music that played. While riding his bike Francisco dreamed of bigger things, seeing new worlds, new places where chickens weren't in control, but these dreams faded when he realized how hard it would be to make it, and his legs started to cramp up.
.......And then for a long time nothing happened
In his teen years Francisco discovered baseball, and also discovered that he had a natural talent for it, but something was holding him back, he had a defect......I'm sorry he had TO defect, he knew he must travel to America if he wanted his skills to flourish, so that is what he did. He said good bye to his family and the chickens and began his swim to a new life. Now the swim to America gets a bit weird, it involves a dolphin, and a huge tidal wave, and the volleyball from Cast Away, I would tell you, but you wouldn't believe it if I told you so I'll just skip ahead. After years of hard work putting himself through school, his big day came, Francisco got the call, he had been drafted by the Kansas City Royals, and still not knowing much about team rankings, he was very excited by this.
Francisco is currently playing for the Kansas City double A team, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, I caught up with him recently to find out how things were going, and to say this kid's future is bright is an understatement. I asked him how he likes living in Arkansas and he couldn't say enough nice things about the people there. "You know, the people here, they have been great to me, they are always there to help me train, when I go to run they chase me in large groups to make me run even faster, they light big crosses on my lawn because they know it gets dark and I will have trouble to see at night. The biggest support I think they give me is when they show up at the ballpark and yell words of encouragement like GO HOME, like they want me to score, or YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, just knowing that they think I deserve to be in the majors at my young age keeps me going. I went on to ask Francisco if the American food is any different from his home town. "You know, the food here is much different, but I cannot enjoy it as much as the coach keeps me on a strict diet, and the people here, they help me with that too, sometimes when I want one of your hamburgers and I go to a restaurant, the people here tell me I'm not allowed in, they know I'm not allowed to eat it, and they just want what's best for me, I"m so blessed to be here."
Francisco just got finished a 28 game hitting streak, and is adapting well to his new club, but there is still a lot to learn, when asked if he had gotten any help from any veterans, he was very respectful of them. "You know they have taught me so much, and they want to help so bad, just the other day I met a man, Mr. Bonds his name was, and he gave me these pills, he told me that it would help me to hit the ball far, and if I wanted to be a legend in the sport I should take them. You know he was so nice and how you say selfless, I kept saying thank you Mr. Bonds, thank you, but he yelled at me and told me that if anyone asked where I got them to say it was Roger Clemens." Francisco knows he has a long road to go to make it to the Royals, but he dreams of his family watching him play in the big leagues, he is young, he knows there are many ups and downs ahead, but when he struggles he just remembers the word that the mystical dolphin told him on that fateful day, just when he thought he couldn't swim any more, the dolphin came up next to him, looked him in the eye and said ARRIBA, which of course as the great Bobby Heenan translated, means......swim faster the border guards are coming.
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